Winter pétanque

When you think of pétanque, what usually comes to mind is a bunch of people in shorts and sandals, drinking Pastis and talking with their hands.
But what about when the temperature drops below 30 degrees as was the case yesterday in Marin County?
Is it going to prevent die-hard pétanque fans from doing their thing?
No siree Bob!

A true “boulomane” will play in any type of weather. You just need to dress adequately that’s all. When it is really cold, if you don’t want to freeze your boules, long thermal underwear is highly recommended.
Generally speaking, as long as it doesn’t snow, “boulistes” will show on the field, eager to rumble.
Jacques Sarafian, our soon to be centenarian wouldn’t have it any other way.

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The main problem when playing in subzero temperatures is that initially “boules” are very cold and difficult to handle.

Somebody once said, “find a need and fill it”. That’s good advice.
A far-seeing entrepreneur could start a “boule-warming stand” and, for a modest fee warm up your boules to a comfortable temperature.
He could also provide hot drinks such as “gløgg” or hot cider, and crêpes naturally.
Just an idea mind you, but worth considering. That’s the way kids are becoming millionaires nowadays; implementing screwy ideas.

In Europe, the ruling class used to laugh at anything that was not “mainstream”. It took a bunch of brash college dropouts (Zuckerberg, Jobs, Gates, Ellison) to set them straight. So, don’t ever laugh at a kid with screwy ideas; he might very well be the one laughing all the way to the bank!

Sunday turned out to be a nice day after all. Cool, sunny and pleasant. After 4:00 p.m. the sun disappeared behind the Civic Center and it started to be cold again.
Like a flock of sparrows, players dispersed and flew home.

As for me, I won one big dollar from Jacques Gautier.
Not a bad day after all!

Alain